Just keep smiling 💋

Dresses

The last half a decade has seen the huge revival of Disney, (need I mention Frozen) and has thrown those amazing classics back into the limelight.

The first Disney Princess to grace our screens was Snow WhiteWAY back in 1937, which might have been followed by more films sooner if not for WWII from 1939-1945, a period distinctly lacking in princesses off to balls as nearly all women were donning boiler suits and supporting the war.

The initial boom was in the 1950s with Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953) and Sleeping Beauty creating the four cornerstones of the Disney classics.

The second wave of Disney Princess films came unsurprisingly after the end of another war- the Cold War, with The Little Mermaid shown the same year as the final uprisings in Eastern Europe against the communist regimes in 1989. Beauty and the Beast marked the year of the formal dissolution of the USSR in 1991 (if you don’t know what USSR is- Google it. It’s very significant to current European events). Aladdin followed in 1992 and from 1995 there was one each year: Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan and Tarzan wrapping up the century in 1999.

It wasn’t until a decade after in 2009 that we saw the next Disney Princess film, The Princess and the Frog with the first non-white leading lady (about time- #princesses for equality! Mulan, Jasmine and Pocahontas still all had white skin…you get the point I’m trying to make). Welcomed back like the return of a prodigal son (or daughter), Disney powered through on their new found wave of support producing Tangled (2010), Brave (2012) and the big one- FROZEN in 2013.

So the last half a decade has seen the revival of Disney Princesses in a big way, it’s not just for kids any more, or rather those people who were kids in the 90s are still loving being a princess well into their twenties. Buzz feed, Etsy and generally the whole retail world has catered to every adult princess’s needs (dresses, quizzes, hairstyles, jewellery etc etc etc) 👗💄💍👛👑

Amid this new acceptance of “adult princesses” there have been a number of beautiful re-imaging of the classics. I was totally enchanted by the recent drawings by Jurka Vinse Jonatan Vaatainen, a Finn who studied at Bournemouth Uni, reimagining what Disney characters would look like in real like. Just stunning. Secretly you know you see yourself as one of them 😋👗👑🦄

What do we do now with no Pretty Little Liars in our lives after the season finale and how do we fill the massive gap it has left in our lives?! You truly know your life is blessed if this is one of the daily problems you face…but still HOW DID I LIVE IN A PRE PLL WORLD?!

PLL lovers, whichever girl you were (I was Hannah) I am so pleased to inform you that there is a life after PLL!

Apart from reading the mountain of articles now published debating the conclusion, what questions were left unanswered, alternative plot outcomes and what will happen next, I have turned back to Netflix in desperate hope of finding something that can meet my required daily dose of drama and dresses.

Netflix did not disappoint.

Firstly if you have not watched Gossip Girl then GO AND WATCH IT IMMEDIATELY! (But don’t if you have a big project to do….there is a high likelihood you will lock yourself away in your room and bite the head off anyone who suggests you: go out/ work/ sleep/ eat/ or DO anything that takes you away from your GG cocoon)

I mean four girls looking fabulous? Somebody worked out this dynamite formula long ago….Gossip Girl got the ball rolling, PLL took it to the next level and it just gets better with the new series I found.

Let me introduce you to my new obsession: Reign

An American fantasy historical romance about Mary Queen of Scots life after moving to France to be married to the French Dauphin and all the dramatic events in Europe in the 1500s. But if you wanted a historically accurate drama then this is not it…the only thing that is correct is the names of the characters. According to this drama the Tudors were well versed in slang and had bra underwiring, elastic, high heels and respect for girls’ honour (by the King of all people!)

BUT IT HAS THE BEST DRESSES EVER!!!! So we forgive it the MASSIVE historical flaws.

Mix Gossip Girl, PLL and the Tudors and you’ve got Reign and Adelaide Kane who plays Mary, has the style prowess of the Duchess of Cambridge, who you wouldn’t be surprised to see wearing one of these dresses…and here’s photographic evidence.

And don’t even get me started on the wedding dresses.

So these dresses are Kate Middleton worthy and we would do anything to get our hands on one of these unique pieces…hang on, did the Internet just say we can buy these?

Just to clarify…Internet, you say we can BUY the dresses of PLL, Gossip Girl and Reign?

I love shopping and I love vintage so it was no surprise that I had marked Lou Lou’s Vintage Fair in Southampton Guildhall weeks in advance. Entry only cost £2 (which is less than a coffee) so this counted as a guilt free way to spend a beautiful afternoon.

There were about 20 stalls there selling everything from jewellery to jumpsuits, with jazz music playing through the speakers and a tea and homemade cake pop up cafe in case you need to rest (shopping is a sport).

Quite aware than I could empty my bank account in the space of the afternoon if my spending was not kept on a short leash, I took out £30 and mentally cut up my bank cards, when down to my last £5 I would have to decide between cake or one last trinket (first world problems…a girl should never have to choose between cake OR something, cake is very much a word that goes with AND…)

20 stalls would be too much to review, hard to believe but it didn’t seem right to write more than I had for academic papers, so I chose my favourite three that I HAD to buy something from.

Forage and Find is a mother daughter team who create beautiful jewellery from vintage items and present them on old photos and postcards and look so beautiful I could have bought every item!

Check out their website http://www.forageandfind.co.uk but be prepared to spend money, I challenge you to resist. Or visit their stall on Winchester High Street every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month.

My favourite pieces were the lockets and necklaces made from vintage clock parts 💗🕒

If you like original vintage items then Little old me vintage is a shop to visit, selling everything from lighters, cufflinks, cameras and jewellery sets as well as handmade necklaces incorporating glass and flowers.

Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Great Gatsby and James Bond, these are just some of the themes you can find at Little Treasures, handmade vintage inspired costume jewellery made by a pair of friends. You will find something you love here and if you fight the urge to buy something for yourself, you will cave and buy someone a gift, either way have a look at their website http://www.lovelittletreasures.com

There is always that point in your life when everyone starts getting married, over the last quarter of a decade there has been at least one every year. But this isn’t a complaint…could I talk about everything wedding related every day?

Am I a girl who demanded her mum make her a veil and train from net curtains, repeatedly lined up all her toys along the “aisle” and wanted “being a princess” to be a full time occupation?

YES!!!!!!!!💗💍👗🌹💎🎀

*** I actually have a friend whose job is being a princess! See a later post, I am so jealous ***

The most recent wedding I attended really would be at home on the pages of a wedding magazine, the level of detail and time spent creating it really was incredible.

Normal table centre pieces consist of flowers, candles or confetti, so if you’ve got beautiful flowers worthy of being a brides bouquet, what else do you need? More flowers of course!

And candles.

And heart confetti, but not just pink heart confetti, personalised heart confetti cut out of maps due to the couples love of travel.

Oh and the little bouquets were in a variety of recycled jars and bottles adorned in ribbon and lace. SO CUTE.

So along with the main room being beautifully decorated, the bride had also created an adorable reception room, complete with a writing desk with typed and written messages of the couples first conversation. You could follow the story of their first encounter: part 1 in the typewriter, part 2 in the notebook, part 3 in the letter and the remaining in the filed envelopes! Not only was this incredibly personal, with both of their dissertations and travel plans laid out, you ended up wanting to take the writing desk home with you!

On ANOTHER table were photographs of both sets of parents and the grandparents who couldn’t be there to share the day with them, along with a candle and a journal for guests to leave wedding messages in.

The table plan was brilliant, I have never seen this done before. It’s quite common to see tables with themed names or places, but they are usually shown on a room plan. This bride (I would like to credit the groom as well, but I fear she is the one with the artistic talent) used a map as the backdrop for the different areas/ tables written on vintage postcards and on its own looked like a work of art compiled over many years.

And finally the food, weddings are difficult because you want to wear a nice dress but have the problem of the almost guaranteed onset of…the food baby.

If you somehow had avoided edible substances all day on account of your recently purchased dress, that fits perfectly…on an empty stomach but after you eat it becomes hard to breath in, (for the academics out there that formula is👗+🍰= 😨🐷^😩) the bride had a solution to that as well.

When hunger reaches a level that you wonder “if I eat a bit of decoration off the wedding cake, will anyone notice?”, there was a TABLE OF PICK AND MIX AND A MINITURE POPCORN MACHINE!

No girl has ever felt so happy tucking into her little box of popcorn before filling a pink striped sweet bag to her hearts content. I have now made a rule to only go to the evening events of weddings for the good of my dresses/ weight (you cannot eat a cute box of popcorn and little pink bag of sweets and feel guiltly, ONLY HAPPINESS) 😍

People say 2 or 3 days in Las Vegas is enough, so when we booked 7 days we thought we would be running out of things to do. WRONG. If you’re going to be boozing, partying and staying up all night partying then yes 2/3 days is probably all your body can take. But that side of Vegas is only one small part, there are so many more things to see and do, we were left having to prioritise to choose which things we were going to do (hence there was a roller coaster ON our hotel and we didn’t get time to go on it).

And I was travelling with girls…..organised girls, so there wasn’t even a hint of what guys do on “don’t tell the bride” and suddenly find its the final day to do things!

To start with, you won’t have time to go round each hotel, we picked 10 to go round and still only managed a walk into the entrance. Our main 10 were:

So considering each hotel is huge, you can easy walk a mile in them and get lost multiple times, you’re going to be hard pressed to see them all. If seeing hotels is high on your to do list, use the monorail- saves time walking and getting distracted by all the things you see (Harley Davidson motor bike coming out a building, other hotels, show girls and Chippendales in the street, Bubba Gump bench etc etc etc)

Think there are only tourist shops…WRONG. If you dont spend all your money on gambling, food and drink, shows and attractions then the shops will finally bankrupt you. Dior, Chanel, Topshop, whatever you want, you’ll find it in Vegas. Did I mention that Vegas in the home of the LARGEST H&M IN THE WORLD! And don’t even get me started on the dress shops…it was all so beautiful we put ourselves on a strict no shop entry, dragging ourselves away from each store window in a team effort. I could move to Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops and live there for a week…OK a month- I would have to sell a kidney and blow my entire life savings BUT IT WOULD TOTALLY BE WORTH IT 😍👛💗💎👠👙👗💄👜

If shopping is not you’re thing then there is still a million other things to see. To start with I could have spent a week just watching the shows: Cirque du Soleil is just a must, they defy gravity and physics…just spend the money and see one show at the very least (we saw KA and were so blown away we went to see Mirage, the original and the one you see in Knocked Up) 😋

We saw the Chippendales of course and apart from a room a SCREAMING women it was really fun, NOT a strip show despite the serious lack of clothing. If you are in Vegas on a hen do then you have to go, some hens get to go up on stage! And collect the free glasses (the drinks are so expensive, take as many as you can!)

FOR ANY SHOW, IF YOU WANT A GOOD SEAT, BUY IT DIRECT FROM THE HOTEL SO YOU CAN CHOOSE, KIOSKS OFFERING LAST MINUTE CHEAP TICKETS DO NOT HAVE SEAT ALLOCATION.

If you like illusionists I recommend David Copperfield, we saw the Saturday matinee show which was cheaper and pretty incredible. It’s a little cheesy and American but you forgive him as he is utterly charming.

Still got more time? Museums, exhibitions and downtown original Vegas Strip are next on your to do list. Get deals or use a loyalty M card for discounts, these also work on shows.

So the adventure begins! After a very early start and little sleep from excitement, we have a 10 hour flight with BA until we touch down in Vegas! Flying over the U.S. was amazing, just the scale of everything, huge river deltas and deserts with nothing for miles except route 95 as a tiny line across the bottom. Despite the long flight I only watched three films, the headphones aren’t the comfiest and after an hour and a half your ears need a rest!

With minimal spoilers…Jupiter Ascending

Channing and Eddie only are topless in one scene and is a rather confused film. Think “Maid in Manhatten” mixed with “Star Wars”. I know, not a winning combo, plus a significant chunk of the alien palace looks like it’s shot in London’s National History Museum 🐋 and despite Channing being from another planet, unlike Thor, seems completly at home and you half expect him to walk into Starbucks and order his preferred coffee.

There was a great potential for dresses for Mila but they only put her in two stunning ones before she changed back into biker style gear. I mean her character chooses to change out of these dresses into plain biker gear. That is like choosing a non topless Channing Tatum! 😱

In the search for more beautiful dresses I watched Cinderella next, we all know the story so no surprises there! Supporting actors made the film and there was seriously nice architecture…hello Prince Charming’s palace! But the poor guy is dressed in grey and white leggings all the time…who looks good in white leggings!! But of course, amazing dresses- even the evil step mother (Cate Blanchett) looked totally fierce.

Finally, Far from the Maddening Croud, a film I really wanted to see…but just meeh. I struggled to finish it, I just saw Carey Mulligan and Michael Sheen in a Pride and Prejudice style film…but really, silent scenes in the wilderness can only be pulled off by Kiera Knightly.